Boerne ISD superintendent Kristin Craft told an audience of more than 300 last Thursday she believes the district has earned an “A” as it pertains to its tax rate, efforts to improve employee compensation, and performance on state accountability ratings.
“We’ve been focused on being fiscally responsible and this has resulted in a 36-cent reduction in in the district’s tax rate since 2018,” she said during her assessment of the district at the Greater Boerne Chamber of Commerce’s annual “State of the District” luncheon.
BISD’s tax rate was $1.3540 in 2018 and currently sits at $0.9909. By comparison, Northside ISD’s rate is $1.0049, Comfort ISD’s is $0.963, and Comal ISD’s is $1.0869.
She noted Boerne ISD has not had to pay recapture funds to the state in some time and is the “ninth lowest funded district by the state.” The recapture policy in Texas requires that more property rich school districts give some of their local property tax revenue to the state which it then redistributes to other districts.
“Our district ranks as a top tier district. We’ve achieved a graduation rate of 99 percent and currently are home to 11,114 students,” Craft said.
The district hired Craft in December of 2023. On its texasschools.gov website, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) gives Boerne ISD an “A” rating of 94 out of 100. By comparison, Northside ISD rated 84, Comfort ISD 83, Blanco ISD 88, Comal ISD 93 and Bandera 68.
The TEA website explains those ratings are a measure of “how much students are learning in each grade and whether or not they are ready for the next grade. It also shows how well a school or district prepares their students for success after high school in college, the workforce, or the military.”
The most recent TEA data for graduation rates is from 2023. At that time, Boerne ISD came in at 98.9 percent, Northside ISD at 95.9, Comfort ISD at 98.8, Blanco ISD at 97.8, Comal ISD at 98 and Bandera ISD at 92.9 percent.
Regarding the region’s rapid growth, Craft said the district projects student enrollment in five years to be at 12,930 and in nine years to be at 15,481.
Boerne ISD student performance on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (commonly known as STAAR) is outpacing that of other districts.
The TEA provides performance ratings for the STAAR which include “Masters Grade Level,” “Meets Grade Level,” and “Approaches Grade Level.”
In the “Approaches” category, Boerne ISD rates 89 percent compared to 73 percent for the region and 75 percent for the state.
In the “Meets” category, Boerne ISD rates 71 percent compared to 46 percent for the region and 48 percent for the state. In the “Masters” category, Boerne ISD rates 36 percent compared to 18 percent for the region and 20 percent statewide. Region 20, within which Boerne ISD resides, includes 58 districts in total.
“Buccees is coming,” Craft said, noting one of the first things one sees when entering one of the gas station chain’s locations is the amount they are compensating hourly employees. This, she said, has provoked the school board to take action to retain hourly employees.
Back in September, the board approved raising pay for new bus drivers from $16 to $19 per hour. At that time district chief operations officer Mark Stahl told the school board that 12 potential drivers had turned down employment offers since March due to the pay rate.
According to their websites, starting driver pay for Comfort ISD sits at $25.95 per hour, Blanco ISD at $21, Comal ISD at $16,24 and Bandera ISD at $17.
Craft noted the school board had also approved an increase of $1.28 per hour for every hourly employee in the district.
Craft also highlighted that an estimated $564,230 in college tuition costs has been saved for graduating seniors because of increased participation in dual-credit courses. She added that 644 students have achieved industry based certifications, an increase of 9 percent over last year.
Reflecting upon the district’s rapid population growth she said, “It’s important to embrace the new growth and new residents while working to retain our hometown feeling.”
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